A new step towards the transition of the public enterprise [1]. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and Consip have activated MEPA Light, the digital market dedicated to public procurement under €5,000 euros: the administrations manage the assignment directly with the support of artificial intelligence agents and can assign it also to enterprises not able to MEPA. For PMI, individual businesses, startups, and foreign enterprises open a path to direct small assignments of the Public Administration without the ability to telematic markets: the body chooses the supplier, the enterprise receives the task via PEC, accepts online and can then request the ability to MEPA with a simplified procedure.

In summary: MEPA Light is active from October 29, 2026 for goods, services, and works of value below €5,000 net of VAT (Press Release MEF No. 117 of October 29, 2026); the good to be purchased and the supplier are identified by the administration before starting the procedure, because the platform does not have a catalog and does not collect bids; the response of the enterprise is entrusted to the legal representative, who signs an autodichiaration in accordance with art. 94 of D. Lgs. n. 36/2023 and subscribes with OTP code; those who refuse the assignment cannot reapply, while changes requests are allowed only on certain conditions, such as quantity, delivery, and payment. MEPA Light for direct assignments under €5,000 [2] MEPA Light, which on the Acquisti in Rete portal appears as MePALight, is the tool with which the administrations manage any direct assignment of value below €5,000 IVA excluded, from preparation to signing.

It has been realized by the Department of General Administration, Personnel and Services of MEF together with Consip within the framework of the Public Administration Procurement Rationalization Program. The spending range involved is very extensive: according to the estimates of ANAC cited by the Ministry, the procurement of this amount exceeds every year 3 million procedures, with a total value of approximately 5 billion euros. This refers to micro-assignments with medium values contained, but require the same set of CIG documents, documents, signatures, and communications to the Authority as for larger procurements.

For these amounts, the administrations are not obliged to use MEPA or other electronic markets, because the obligation to use MEPA starts at €5,000 (art. 1, comma 450, of L.n. 296/2006, modified by Law on Budgets 2019). The Code of Public Contracts (D. Lgs. n. 36/2023) requires, however, since 2024, to manage also the smaller expenses on digital certificate platforms, and the ANAC continues to allow the use of its own web interface until €5,000 with a prorogation without expiry date [3] The creation of MEPA Light is an important step towards the digitization of enterprises and administrations, but it cannot be considered as a final goal.

This innovation should improve the competitiveness of enterprises, increase transparency, and reduce costs. Moreover, it could help solve security and privacy problems, since data are archived online and do not need physical transfers. [4] However, this new phase of digitization should not be seen as a simple technological change. It is necessary [5]